Why charge so much for calls?

[David H]

I got the letter saying from May 1st Virgin will be charging around 10p a minute for daytime calls, and like BT would now last till 7pm. I know there's a £2 option to get all the calls thrown in, but my question is that as nearly everyone will almost certainly profit from it then why do they even bother charging more than BT charge to call mobiles for UK calls when only those with more money than sense will ever pay that much? I use 1868 anyhow (as I previously used Onetel) since the direct dial companies were blocked who used 0871 and 0844 numbers, as it's the only way I can call mobile and abroad for less than flying there, and although Virgin only allow a handful of operators to offer a service in return for a cut (the prices they charge us includes a premium which goes there) they still exist, so what on earth is the point, business and PR wise, in charging daytime rates well over the odds when anyone with an ounce of sense won't use it, and makes the company look like money grabbing shysters? Wouldn't either abandoning call charges altogether for flat rate or create a genuine option where people could balance the costs for low or heavy users be a sensible PR operation rather than have a service no one with much of a brain would dream of using and just makes them look like bad guys?

OOPS, wrong glasses on, just seen this went in the mobile forum, please could someone move it to the fixed phone one, my fault...

[nodrogd]

I always use the international call checker on Moneysavingexpert.com (http://callchecker.moneysavingexpert.com/intcallchecker/) to call abroad using a third party.

[Gadgie]

Ever since we took the free calls 01 02 and 03 numbers 24/7 we have used this site, as it saves us having to pay a lot for making calls to all 0845 & 0870 numbers.

It has saved us a lot of money;)

http://www.saynoto0870.com/

[carlwaring]

I agree. I think VM's phone pricing is terrible. I've had an old Orchid Dialler for years and it still works well. I now mainly use it to route mobile and 0845 calls through www.18185.co.uk

[Hugh]

Moved as requested

[richard1960]

Ever since we took the free calls 01 02 and 03 numbers 24/7 we have used this site, as it saves us having to pay a lot for making calls to all 0845 & 0870 numbers.

It has saved us a lot of money;)

http://www.saynoto0870.com/

I agree saynoto0870 is superb i use it often.

[bonzoe]

As the OP says, VM are expensive, WHY?

[Chris]

I suspect they rely on the fact that you don't see a price tag whenever you go near your phone, so a lot of people won't realise what it's costing them.

[m419]

As the OP says, VM are expensive, WHY?
Landline usage is dropping and because of unmetered call packages like Talk Unlimited, they are getting less revenue than what they used to. To be honest Virgin Media are just the first to put the prices up other networks are following and it is only a matter of time before BT catches up and becomes more expensive as BT will start losing money after all the aggressive advertising,costs of rolling out infinity and upgrades to the existing infrastructure. If you look closely BT and other providers have many hidden costs and costs that will make up for the cheap calls, they charge £3.15 per month for just one calling feature, £4 per month for anonymous caller rejection and the line rental is slightly higher at £14.75, nearly £2 per minute for directory enquiries.BT are also now charging for Caller Display for those who do not make enough calls. But considering all the companies, it is cheaper to call landlines from BT payphones at just 2p per minute (60p for 30 minutes) minimum charge of 60p. The days of bargains and half price line rental are over,that is what Cable and Wireless did and ran its business to the ground trying to sell One2one,Cable services and Bulldog at dirt cheap prices to gain as much as custom as they could.
Important information about free Caller Display:
Customers who do not make enough calls with BT will be charged for BT Caller Display. Customers who are billed every three months must make at least six chargeable or inclusive calls within those three months, otherwise BT reserves the right to charge £8.10 a quarter. Customers who are billed monthly must make at least two chargeable or inclusive calls a month otherwise BT reserves the right to charge £2.70 a month. Free calls (for example to 0800 numbers, calls to the emergency services etc) do not count towards the minimum call commitment.

[bonzoe]

It gets silly..........my PAYG mobile is 10p per min, no connection charge on top and no line rental. If I could, I would drop landline completely, but forced to pay to get TV and BB.

[Gadgie]

Yea! before I got this contract phone I was with ASDA PAYG for 10p a minute, (used to be 8p)

Then my wife got me the I-Phone for a birthday present, but if we had just waited a few weeks, I could have a far better deal with V/M mobile, as we have moved back to them for the lot.